


The Art of Surviving the Holidays

by adaintywomanofmystery



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andreil Week 2019, Holidays, M/M, Thanksgiving, Vague references to the canon thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 10:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19789255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adaintywomanofmystery/pseuds/adaintywomanofmystery
Summary: Andrew hates Thanksgiving and refuses to participate, knowing it’s only going to end in disaster. Neil seems to think otherwise, and with a very persistent Nicky on their case, how can he say no?Written for Day 6 of Andreil Week, prompt: holidays





	The Art of Surviving the Holidays

Holidays were not a good time for Andrew in general. People always wanted more from him during the holidays, as if the simple change of date would somehow make all the bad stuff just go away and make him suddenly more functional. Andrew maintained the firm belief that holidays were pointless; a day for everyone to pretend their lives weren’t fucked up and that concepts like “family” weren’t just flimsy societal constructs, but rather iron chains to weigh each other down.

So yeah, no one would exactly describe Andrew as a “holiday person.”

Thanksgiving, in particular, is a touchy subject. It has been years since that day at the Hemmick’s, and Andrew has refused to celebrate it since. Thankfully, the others have taken the hint to finally leave him alone. Or perhaps no one has simply had the guts to try to convince him to attend a celebration after the last time he was coerced to go. 

There has been an unsteady truce struck between him and the important people in his life. Andrew has conceded to attending Christmas—a large, noisy affair with all of the foxes where he can easily fade into the background—and in exchange, the others leave him alone on other holidays. It’s not a perfect system, but it works. 

No one is more surprised than Andrew at the path his life has taken, but he can’t complain. He has a house, a car, a partner who is finally living in the same city as him after too much time apart, and two annoyances named Sir and King. He even has a job that he is good at, and that he secretly enjoys.

Andrew absolutely refuses to admit he sometimes enjoys playing Exy, even to himself, because he’s sure that somehow Neil will sense this and he will never ever hear the end of it. Despite this, Andrew is satisfied with the life he has created, and as such has become very defensive over anything that he feels will threaten this tenuous peace.

Enter Nicky, overly-excitable cousin and current threat to the status quo. 

Andrew is sitting in the corner of the couch in their living room, propped against one side with legs extended over the cushions. He’s holding a book in one hand and dangling a string of thick, red yarn over the edge of the couch and mindlessly flicking it back and forth with the other, taunting Sir.

His concentration is broken by Neil as he enters the room, speaking loudly on the phone. He paces around, subjecting Andrew to his half of the conversation. Andrew gets the sense someone is trying to convince Neil to do something, but he isn’t paying too much attention. He thinks he knows the answer but he enjoying his denial.

Neil hangs up with an audible sigh, turning off his phone and tossing it onto the coffee table before settling down beside Andrew on the couch. Andrew makes room for him by lifting his legs, then settling them into Neil’s lap. Neil absently starts stroking them before he turns to look at Andrew, a question in his eyes. He opens his mouth to ask, but Andrew beats him to it.

“No.” Andrew tries to say it with finality, as if he could stop Neil with just his tone of voice. If Neil was that easily dissuaded though, they never would have what they do. Most of the time Andrew is glad for that tenacity. This is not one of those times.

“I didn’t ask anything,” Neil says with a pout that they both know is fake.

“You didn’t have to. I know what you’re thinking.” Andrew knows Nicky has been trying to convince Neil to convince Andrew to attend a Thanksgiving celebration, and Neil has held out admirably, but not even he can resist Nicky’s pestering that long. 

“He won’t leave me alone until we agree to _something_.” 

“That sounds like a you problem,” Andrew says indifferently.

“Oh, I can make it an us problem if you want.” Neil responds, already lighting up with the challenge. Andrew has the feeling this is going to come back to haunt him.

“Do you remember the last time you didn’t listen to me about this?” He tries instead. He loves finding the cracks in people’s armour, crafting the right words that hit hard every time. Neil winces. 

“Low blow,” he says, but Andrew can tell the damage is superficial. It’s why he and Neil work so well; they both wield words to hurt, but they can never do any lasting harm to each other. 

“He says it won’t be like last time,” Neil tries, but gives up quickly, letting the argument go when Andrew remains unmoved. Andrew isn’t stupid enough to think that this is over, though.

***

Over the next week Neil brings it up at random times, making sure to bother Andrew whenever Nicky calls him in what Andrew supposes is meant to fulfill his goal of annoying Andrew into agreeing. It’s a bold move that has rarely worked in his favour in the past since Andrew is very stubborn.

Things escalate one day, about two weeks before the Thanksgiving weekend, when it’s 6 am and Neil has “accidentally” left his phone behind while he goes on a run. Andrew isn’t completely sure if Neil is being forgetful or spiteful, but the blaring ring of the phone is set suspiciously high. Andrew lets it ring twice before he reaches across the bed to Neil’s nightstand and rejects the call without looking to see who it is. 

He’s just settled back down when it rings again. He lays there for what feels like an eternity, contemplating his options while the phone drones on and on. Since he is now awake and the phone has refused to stop ringing—going to voicemail once before starting up a third time—Andrew decides to finally look and see who is so desperate to get ahold of Neil.

Nicky’s name is on the display and Andrew curses out loud before attempting to silence the phone. Unfortunately, Neil has turned on the setting that allows repeat calls to ring anyway. It being too much effort to go in and change the phone’s settings, Andrew finally begrudgingly answers the phone with a monotone, “What.”

“Neil! I know you’re awake, and if you’re rejecting my calls it means that you actually have your phone turned on, so I don’t know why you think I’m going to give up. I also don’t know why we do this every time. It would be easier on everyone if you’d just pick up the first time. I swear one of these days it’s going to be urgent…”

“Nicky,” Andrew says warningly, knowing that if he lets Nicky go, he’ll ramble forever and never get to the point. Nicky ignores this, however, still thinking he is talking to Neil and going on and on about pointless things.

“Nicky!” Andrew barks into the phone. “Just shut up, will you. Why the fuck are you calling Neil at 7 in the morning? I know you know we are 6 hours behind.”

“Andrew? Hey! I’m so glad you picked up. I never get to talk to you anymore! Neil is usually up around this time, so I thought I’d give him a call while I’m on my lunch break, since he’s usually busy later in the day and I know he gets up early to go on runs, which I think is crazy, like who actually does that…”

Andrew briefly marvels at his cousin’s ability to speak in only run-on sentences, without even pausing for breath. Nicky starts to go off on another tangent about exercise goals and limited schedules and Andrew nearly hangs up, but he knows that avoiding the problem will only make it worse. He interrupts Nicky for a third time, promising himself only two minutes before he hangs up.

When Nicky finally gets to the point, it’s of course about the upcoming holiday, which Andrew still has no intentions of celebrating. Yet somehow, by the end of the phone call, Nicky has somehow wheedled a gruff maybe from Andrew and a promise to think it over—and he takes all of his promises very seriously—even if it’s just to get Nicky to stop badgering the two of them about it. 

Nicky is almost as determined as Neil when he really wants something, and he’s very passionate about stereotypical family activities. Andrew would point out this desire is the result of attempting to compensate for a childhood of neglect and bad parenting, if he thought Nicky would listen.

While the chances of something as bad happening again are slim, Andrew still can’t see this ending in anything but disaster, and if anyone would listen to him they would see it too. Nicky has tried periodically over the years since they all graduated to get the three of them—Andrew, Neil, and Aaron—all to play nice, but Aaron and Neil are still prickly at best, while Andrew still refuses to do more than acknowledge Katelyn, which is even then still leagues better than it was in college. 

She hasn’t hurt Aaron yet, and with their deal broken, Andrew has grudgingly acquiesced to her presence in his life but no more. The four of them together are explosive and Andrew wonders why he seems to be the only one who can see that. Whatever, if these idiots want to try to navigate these treacherous waters, Andrew is perfectly willing to sit there and watch it go to hell. Maybe then they will believe him and he will never have to do this again.

By the time Neil comes back, Andrew has almost convinced himself to allow this to happen, though it will be on his terms. He’s not going to be the one to bring it up though.

Neil finds Andrew sitting up in their bed, toying with Neil’s phone; flipping it and catching it in a rhythmic pattern. When Neil comes into view Andrew lobs the phone at him, rightly trusting in his fast reflexes and ability to dodge. Neil merely laughs after and picks the phone up off the ground. 

“You know you’re not supposed to leave your phone when you go out. Do I need to have it permanently attached to you?” Andrew asks, the hint of a threat lurking just below the surface.

“I guess I just forgot,” Neil says a little too innocently. For being raised on lies, Neil is awfully transparent these days. Andrew hasn’t decided if that’s just because he’s more observant or Neil has let his guard down.

“Was this a setup, then?” Andrew asks, although he already knows the answer.

“I am hurt and offended you think I would leave my phone behind on purpose just to force you to talk to your cousin,” Neil says, dramatically flopping on the bed beside Andrew.

“Neil,” Andrew says warningly, accompanied by a kick to Neil’s shins.

“Yes, of course it was a setup! You saw how persistent he was. This was the only way to make the madness stop and you know it,” Neil exclaims, sounding genuinely frustrated. Andrew does not envy the role of mediator that Neil has picked up over the years between Andrew and the others. Until Neil decides to change things, though, Andrew is perfectly happy to let him act as a gatekeeper of the annoyances.

Neil is now flipping through his phone. He gets to the missed call notifications and sees the call history.

“You rejected the call? Amateur mistake, you should have known he wouldn’t give up if he thinks you’re ignoring him and not genuinely out of range.”

“Unlike someone, I actually answer my phone and silence it during early morning hours, so I don’t need to resort to ridiculous tricks.” 

Andrew can’t help the jab at Neil. He’s gotten better about keeping his phone on him and charged, but he still likes to abandon it at random, much to Andrew’s consternation. Neil ignores the pointed jab about his phone habits, steering the conversation back to their original point. 

“So what did Nicky want?”

“You know exactly what he was after. I had to listen to him ramble over and over again before he got to the point,” Andrew says, stretching the truth a little.

“You know, Nicky would stop bothering us if we let him have something.” 

“Were you attempting to make a point or were you just being needlessly irritating and vague?”

“All I’m saying is that we could stand to humour Nicky this one time,” Neil says in that voice he uses when he’s trying to be subtly persuasive and he’s trying to lure Andrew into engaging with the topic. 

Andrew has already mostly decided to accept his fate, but he enjoys watching Neil attempt to convince him. As if sensing his softening disposition, Neil carries on with;

“We can host it here, so you don’t have to go anywhere and you can just leave if it gets too much. I’ll even do the cooking if you want,” Neil says as if his cooking is somehow an enticing offer, which—based on past experiences— it most definitely is not.

“You’ll do no such thing. You can clean up all of the dishes instead.” Neil smiles, knowing that he’s won the argument. 

“Great. I’ll let Nicky know. I’ll ask Katelyn if she will bring some of her fantastic pumpkin pie…” Neil adds on in acknowledgment of Andrew’s concessions. Maybe this wouldn’t be all bad after all.

***

Of course, everything goes as Andrew predicted it would. From the moment the guests arrive, there is a weird tension in the air. Aaron and Katelyn arrive first, and they spend their first couple minutes awkwardly navigating partially healed family bonds.

This is the first time any of the others have seen their new house, and Aaron seems to be treating it with great suspicion. He is acting as enthusiastic about this get together as Andrew. He wonders if Aaron was relying on him to say no so that he wouldn’t look like the bad guy for wanting to refuse.

Andrew greets Aaron and Katelyn as expected; he completely ignores her existence, and only gives Aaron a head tilt in acknowledgment, letting Neil do the talking. Aaron already appears on edge from this display, though Katelyn takes it in stride, holding onto the pumpkin pie she brought like a peace offering and shield all rolled into one.

Nicky and Erik arrive, their happy chatter and pleasant dispositions help to dispel the bad tension in the air briefly, but things still get out of hand pretty quickly. Andrew can see Neil trying very hard to be a gracious host, but pleasantries and small talk do not come naturally to him.

Additionally, Aaron seems to be trying to rile him up, making rude comments and vague insults. It seems time has not helped whatever problem Aaron has with Neil, and being confined in a small space with few others is not helping the situation. It also doesn’t help that there’s an elephant in the room; their last Thanksgiving they celebrated, although years ago, hangs over everyone’s heads. They all know it, but no one is willing to bring it up.

Eventually, Aaron and Neil are sniping at each other, getting less and less subtle as Nicky tries to put out fires. Erik watches with part amusement and horror as it all goes down.

They don’t even make it to dessert before the real fighting starts. Aaron has finally pushed too many buttons, and Neil is no longer able to rein in his fiery temper. It’s entertaining to watch at first, but it gets old pretty quickly. Andrew sneaks back into the kitchen, aiming for the pie left unattended.

Andrew sits directly on the counter, ignoring the easily accessed chairs, and eating the pie straight from the tin while listening to the fighting in the other room escalate. Erik is the first one to find him. He takes one look at Andrew already a quarter of the way through the pie, grabs a fork and sits next to Andrew on the counter, who begrudgingly shares the dish. Nicky has stayed behind to act as a peacemaker with Katelyn, which seems to be going poorly.

They’re halfway through the pie when there’s a loud thump and then loud swearing coming from the other room. Curiosity piqued, Andrew and Erik enter the other room to see Nicky trying to talk down a fuming Aaron while Katelyn attempts to inspect a resisting Neil’s hand; the reason being it’s apparent recent acquaintance with the wall, if the large hole in the drywall is to be believed.

Andrew brushes past Katelyn without a word, pulling Neil’s hand into his own with a bit more force than necessary. Neil winces but stays silent, submitting to the treatment. His hand doesn’t look too bad, but they should get some ice on it quickly to get ahead of the swelling.

“Well, this has been charming, but I think it’s best we end this little experiment now.” As an afterthought, Andrew adds, “Thanks for the pie.” Katelyn snorts, but otherwise no other reaction is heard.

Without another word, Andrew brings Neil into the kitchen, running his hand under water and cleaning the abrasions on his knuckles before getting some frozen peas from the freezer. When he bothers to check, the others have left and the house is once again blissfully silent. Neil isn’t quite meeting his eyes, so Andrew grabs his chin forcing Neil to make eye contact.

“What,” Andrew says, not feeling up to the mind games. Better to deal with it head on now, than let it eat away at Neil all evening.

“It’s just… Nicky wanted this to go well, and I wanted… I wanted you to have a good holiday for once. I know you usually suffer through Thanksgiving, but I let my temper get away from me, and now it’s ended exactly as you said it would. Again.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, this was the most entertaining Thanksgiving I’ve ever had,” Andrew says truthfully. After all, it is always entertaining to watch Neil run his mouth.

“Now stop talking,” Andrew adds before pulling Neil into a quick kiss, then turning to start cleaning up, despite what he said before about making Neil do it. Neil brightens up and the clean up passes by quickly between the two of them.

They’re making their way upstairs for the night when they pass the hole in the wall.  
“I’ll fix it,” Neil promises, despite Andrew being sure he has no home renovation skills whatsoever. Then again, Neil is full of surprises.

Andrew looks at the hole in the wall and an idea starts to form in his head. He looks back at Neil and shrugs as if to say, “do whatever you want”, before continuing up the stairs behind him.

***

Neil is visibly taken aback when, a week later, he notices there’s a frame around the hole in the wall with a small engraved plaque underneath it that reads,

First Thanksgiving

2009

Medium: Hand, Drywall

He shakes his head ruefully, but doesn’t remove it, which means Neil enjoys the joke. Andrew allows himself one small, secret smile at Neil’s reaction. Maybe the holidays weren’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. Come yell at me on Tumblr at reneeisbuffjesus.


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